Robert Rapier

Latest articles from Robert

• 2018 Was A Record Breaking Year For Energy Markets

  Published 11 January 2019 | viewed 9,604 times

  I had intended to grade my 2018 energy predictions before now, but one of them wasn’t decided until the last day of the year. But after the stock…

• OPEC Is Losing Its Stranglehold On Oil Prices

  Published 05 January 2019 | viewed 29,231 times

  Many articles have been written this past year about the impending demise of OPEC. Shale oil, it has been argued, has ended the cartel’s stranglehold…

• The World’s Most Productive Oil Field

  Published 03 January 2019 | viewed 25,479 times

  Many people will tell you that the production rate of Saudi Arabia’s Ghawar oil field, which has yielded 5 million barrels of petroleum per day…

• Why Oil Prices Rose And Crashed In 2018

  Published 30 December 2018 | viewed 46,087 times

  Last week the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil, the primary U.S. benchmark, fell to a 17-month low. The price, $45.88/bbl, marks a stunning fall…

• No, The U.S. Is Not A Net Exporter Of Crude Oil

  Published 13 December 2018 | viewed 58,088 times

  Last week Bloomberg created quite a stir with this story: The U.S. Just Became a Net Oil Exporter for the First Time in 75 Years.…

• Is This The Answer To Global Warming?

  Published 08 December 2018 | viewed 21,311 times

  In my previous article – Indisputable Facts On Climate Change – I addressed some of the things we know to be true as it relates to carbon…

• How President Trump Is Undermining U.S. Oil Producers

  Published 26 November 2018 | viewed 27,692 times

  President Trump recently took credit for the plunge in oil prices since early October. As I noted in a recent article, it’s true that the…

• Oil Prices May Have Reached A Bottom

  Published 18 November 2018 | viewed 26,261 times

  Last Friday, oil prices fell for the 10th consecutive day. According to CNBC, this marked the longest losing streak for crude oil in 34 years. I…

• Trump Claims Victory As Oil Prices Plummet

  Published 17 November 2018 | viewed 38,939 times

  Oil prices are now down over 20 percent from recent highs, and President Trump knows exactly where the credit for that belongs. “If you look…

• The Energy Investment Model With A Glaring Problem

  Published 06 November 2018 | viewed 7,503 times

  The first master limited partnership (MLP) was formed by Apache Oil Company in 1981. In 1987 Congress legislated the rules for publicly traded partnerships in…

• The Overlooked Downside Of Ethanol

  Published 05 November 2018 | viewed 32,286 times

  Ethanol is known to damage small gasoline-powered engines, such as those in lawnmowers and leaf blowers. Consumer Reports explains: A Department of Energy study found that…

• The Death Of Algal Biofuel

  Published 27 October 2018 | viewed 23,813 times

  During the advanced biofuel craze of the past decade, many companies made claims that weren’t remotely credible. A long list of companies claimed they could economically convert…

• Fact Checking Bernie Sanders On Renewable Energy

  Published 25 October 2018 | viewed 17,935 times

  When discussing energy policies, I think it’s critical to accurately represent facts. Otherwise, we may end up making ineffective policy decisions based on myths or…

• New Tech From Iceland Can Turn Carbon Dioxide Into Fuel

  Published 24 October 2018 | viewed 32,762 times

  I wrote this column in Iceland, where I recently traveled on a working vacation. While in Iceland I met with an innovative energy producer whose technology could help mitigate…

• Is The Threat Of High Oil Prices Overstated?

  Published 04 October 2018 | viewed 16,661 times

  As U.S. sanctions on Iran have forced some countries to stop importing oil from Iran, crude oil prices have inevitably risen. The U.S. started down…

• Creating Fuel From Thin Air

  Published 29 September 2018 | viewed 15,996 times

  Wouldn’t it be magnificent if we had a low-cost way to capture the sun’s energy and economically store it for later consumption? Actually, we do. Plant…

• Why Peak Oil Demand Doesn’t Matter

  Published 22 September 2018 | viewed 28,590 times

  Although natural gas is projected to be the fastest-growing fossil fuel over the next two decades, the global oil market won't likely be far behind.…

• Refiners Aren’t To Blame For Climate Change

  Published 16 September 2018 | viewed 14,920 times

  For about a decade, Texas has considered the idea of erecting a coastal barrier to protect against the impacts of hurricanes. Texas A&M researchers concluded that a direct…

• How Natural Gas Is Paving The Way To A Cleaner Energy Future

  Published 12 September 2018 | viewed 17,817 times

  Many environmentalists are staunchly against the idea that natural gas can act as a bridge fuel to a renewable future. Actor Mark Ruffalo echoed the…

• New Fuel Efficiency Rules Could Boost Oil Consumption

  Published 11 September 2018 | viewed 9,633 times

  Last month, the Trump Administration announced that it would replace fuel efficiency standards enacted by the Obama Administration in order to make cars safer and more affordable.…